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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28251189">Gifting joy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LetoLeGaosaure/pseuds/LetoLeGaosaure'>LetoLeGaosaure</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The fluffiest dragon hoard [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Christmas, Fluff, Other, Slice of Life, Teratophilia, dragon - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:55:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,438</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28251189</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LetoLeGaosaure/pseuds/LetoLeGaosaure</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You decide that Rafael deserves a present.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The fluffiest dragon hoard [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1428451</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>La Tanière du Monstre / The Monster's Den, No Sex Terato</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Gifting joy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I didn't plan to write a Christmas fic, but I got the cutest gift from the awesome and adorable <a href="https://twitter.com/yuwalfox">Yuwalfox</a> (who already made the fabulous illustration for the first part of this series!) and I felt the need to share it ♥ Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, have all the good vibes =)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>With Christmas approaching, your shop sees more clients than at any other time of the year. There are less children, though, with the parents trying to get surprise presents… and with the way it's expected to see adults coming in alone and choose toys alone, you can spot shy people picking up plushies for themselves under the guise of knowing a child. You always keep a straight face, but on the inside you're smiling wide. While it's sad they need the comfort of <i>pretending</i> to allow themselves to get what they want, it's just plain heartwarming to see people falling in love with your creations.</p><p>You were a bit nervous about Rafael at first, though. Despite your hard work to prepare for the celebrations, your stock melts so fast that he can't get as many plushies as he's used to (if he can even get one per day, which is not always the case), and you were afraid he'd be sad.</p><p>Turns out you were worrying for… well, not exactly <i>nothing</i>, but at least not the correct reasons.</p><p>Rafael is here everyday, which is not new. What <i>is</i> new is the fact that he's coming almost as soon as you open, and watches the clients silently from the safety of the corner between your fabric storage and the sewing machine. He genuinely makes an effort to mask his reactions, but you know him well enough to spot the frowns he has for some persons, while he smiles for some others.</p><p>One evening, after the shop closes and you can't give him anything, you gather your courage to ask him the reasons for his attitude.</p><p>“Well… I… I can see who genuinely like the toys and think their kids will love them, who just pick something without <i>feeling</i>, and who will definitely keep it for themselves,” he explains. “And I know it's stupid because there's no way I'd intervene in your business, I don't want to cause you any problem–“<br/>
“I trust you,” you cut him gently, smiling.<br/>
“… thanks. I… I just need to see it, you know? Which plushie will go to a good home, which plushie is left to luck… I need to say goodbye...”</p><p>He's looking at you with big, pleading eyes, and you can't do anything but melt.</p><p>“It's OK,” you reassure him. “I don't mind having you there… it's… it's nice, actually,” you admit, fighting a blush.</p><p>He slowly nods. You desperately search for a change of topic.</p><p>“Rafael? Do dragons celebrate Christmas? Or, I don't know, Yule, the solstice… anything?”</p><p>He shakes his head.</p><p>“As a species, we don't have any specific celebration at this time of the year, but given that most of us more or less participate in human societies, we can pick up the local traditions.”<br/>
“So, do <i>you</i> celebrate anything?” you can't help but ask, curious.<br/>
“Not really… It's just… a weird period for me,” he admits. “Toys are loved or ignored more intensely than at any other time of the year, so of course I feel it. I feel… unbalanced? Like I'm bursting from joy and sorrow at the same time.”<br/>
“You pick up on these things even when you're not in the same room as the toys?”</p><p>You're suddenly a bit horrified and worried.</p><p>“Yes and no. I cannot feel any <i>individual</i> emotion from afar, but with the sheer number of them, all packed on the same day…”</p><p>He shrugs without looking at you.</p><p>“I pick up things, yeah...”</p><p>Alright, now you're definitely worried for him. You don't want him to feel heartbroken over and over for the toys that don't get the approval of their recipients on Christmas day. You want him to only feel the happiness of the budding love from perfect matches between child and plushie.</p><p>You're not sure what you can do, though. You're already doing all you can to assure that your toys are as perfect as possible, and to give the best advice to people looking unsure about their choices. It's not like you can predict what a child will love without seeing them.</p><p>Then you catch Rafael looking at your half empty shelves with longing, and you decide you can at least try to mitigate the damage. You might not be enough to make sure <i>everyone</i> is happy with your plushies (never mind all the other stuffed toys in the city!) but you <i>can</i> make sure at least one person is happy. The most important one.</p><p>Of course, with Rafael hanging out in the shop all the time, you can't exactly hide any new project from him, but while machine sewing is faster you are perfectly able to sew by hand. Grabbing some fabric to hide it in your bag behind Rafael's back is an exercise in discretion, but your prudence pays off and you manage to bring home everything that you need.</p><p>You usually try <i>hard</i> to avoid creating plushies outside of your shop, because it would be far too easy to let yourself be consumed by it and burn yourself out. You think that for once an exception is warranted.</p><p>Christmas finally arrives. Your shop is of course closed, and you decide to go to Rafael's home rather than invite him. You bundle yourself in a heavy coat, a long scarf and a woolen hat, grab your bag and go trekking through the woods.</p><p>You finished your present just yesterday, but you think you really did well. You're lowkey anxious, but overall excited.</p><p>When you reach the entrance to Rafael's home, you look around you, making sure you're alone –not that you saw anyone in the forest so far, but better check twice. You then enter the corridor and stand awkwardly, not daring to go farther without being invited.</p><p>“Rafael? Can I come in?” you call out.</p><p>For a while, there's only silence, and you suddenly realise you didn't even ask Rafael if he would be home on Christmas day. Maybe he's out celebrating with Dustin, or the other members of the Den, or his family… But before you can really freak out, you hear steps hurrying toward you. You hide a smile.</p><p>Rafael's head pokes from behind a curtain that hides a room. He looks surprised but delighted to see you.</p><p>“You… Please, come in!” he says. “I didn't think you'd come… did I forget something?”<br/>
“Not at all,” you reassure him. “I came uninvited, I hope that's not a problem?”</p><p>He shakes his head, his hair forming a shiny halo around him.</p><p>“You're <i>always</i> welcome here!” he insists.<br/>
“Thank you...”</p><p>He guides you to what's closest to a living room in there. You can't help but fidget with your bag. You itch to give him his surprise right now, but is it the right timing? Is it even polite? Is…</p><p>Oh, screw polite. You already showed up uninvited, and anyway you're sure he'll be happy with what you have for him.</p><p>“How are you feeling?” you ask nevertheless.<br/>
“Jumpy,” he admits. “But I'm alright, I promise! You don't have to worry about me!”<br/>
“… am I that transparent?”</p><p>He smiles, shyly.</p><p>“A bit, sometimes. But I'm… honored that you judge me important enough to be worried, even if I don't want you to feel bad because of me.”<br/>
“Of course you're important! You're my friend!”</p><p>He blushes.</p><p>“You're my friend too...” he answers softly.</p><p>For a few seconds, you just look at each other, unable to dismiss the sudden emotion in the air. Then you shake yourself and open your bag.</p><p>“Here, I have something for you.”</p><p>You give him a present wrapped in a shiny blue paper that made you think of his wings, with a silvery ribbon. His eyes widen.</p><p>“For… for me?” he almost squeaks.<br/>
“Yes, for you,” you confirm with a fond smile. “Merry Christmas.”<br/>
“It's the first time I get a Christmas present… and I have nothing for you!” he suddenly panics.<br/>
“It's alright, I'm more than happy to just share a moment with you.”</p><p>He looks unsure for one or two seconds, then seems to accept that you're sincere. He cautiously tugs the ribbon, then slowly, carefully unwrap his gift. When he opens the box, though, his hesitation disappears in favor of pure, utter <i>glee</i>.</p><p>“It's so <i>cute</i>!” he squeals, grabbing the plushie.</p><p>He hugs it to his chest, then hugs you, and then turns into his dragon form, still clinging to the orange dinosaur you made him. You can't help but laugh, his obvious joy contagious.</p><p><i>Mission accomplished</i>, you think. This must be the real spirit of Christmas: unbridled happiness. </p><p>You're so glad you could be a part of it.</p><p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>For those of you who know me on other platforms… yes, the plushie in the art that inspired me to write this whole fic <i>is</i> based on the design some good friends created for my screen name of “gaosaurus”. So this is basically Rafael hugging a plushie!me. I was the one squealing upon seeing that pic ♥</p></blockquote></div></div>
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